It's all fun and games until you piss off the Swifties. These comedians found out the
hard way that just because you can joke about something doesn't mean you should
On October 27th, a little over a week before the 2024 election
Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden that was filled with speakers providing
inflammatory remarks. But one statement broke through the most. It came from comedian Tony
Hinchcliffe. There were many racist jokes, and Hinchcliffe even earned the ire of Taylor Swift's
fans for inferring that her boyfriend Travis Kelsey could be the next OJ Simpson
But his most infamous statement came when he said, I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage
in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it's called Puerto Rico
The comments sent waves throughout Hispanic communities throughout the United States. The joke seemed particularly ill-suited, considering how many Puerto Ricans live
in swing states like Pennsylvania. Latin celebrities like Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez
even came out in support of Kamala Harris after Hinchcliffe's comments went viral
Rather than apologize or offer any semblance of self-reflection, Hinchcliffe doubled down on his
joke following the backlash, writing on X, These people have no sense of humor. I made fun of everyone
Matt Reif first got big on TikTok by sharing bits from its comedy shows
which primarily featured his crowd work. He gained a substantial following, and it wasn't
long before Netflix gave him his own comedy special in 2023, Natural Selection
So how did Rife choose to begin this special With a joke about domestic violence he tells a story about seeing a female restaurant server with a black eye then Yeah but I feel like if she could cook she wouldn have that black eye
The special also included homophobic jokes and seemingly plagiarized bits from the late
Ralphie Mae. But it was Rife's domestic violence joke that earned the most ire
Natural Selection has an abysmal 19% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. In response to the backlash, Rife posted a link to his Instagram stories, asking people
to click if they were offended by his material. The link directed users to a website offering a
protective helmet for special-needs children. The controversy didn't deter Netflix from working
with Rife again, though. Another comedy event, Lucid, a crowd-work special, was released in 2024
In 2012, just days after the horrific Aurora, Colorado shooting during a screening of The Dark
Night Rises, Dane Cook took to the stage at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles to talk about how much
he didn't like the film. He concluded by saying, I know that if, you know, none of that would have happened, I'm pretty sure that somebody
in that theater about 25 minutes in, realizing that it was a piece of crap, was probably like
ugh, f—shoot me." With 12 people dead and dozens of others injured, many didn't think it was appropriate to joke
about the tragedy, especially so soon after it had occurred. Cook later posted an apology on X, writing
"'I am devastated by the recent tragedy in Colorado and did not mean to make light of
what happened. I made a bad judgment call with my material last night and regret making a joke
at such a sensitive time. In 2017 during the MeToo movement Louis C faced numerous accusations from women accusing him of sexual misconduct His reckoning was swift with Netflix canceling a planned stand special and his film I Love
You Daddy remaining unreleased. But even before all of this, C.K. regularly found himself towing the line of good taste
and that includes a 2015 Saturday Night Live monologue where the comedian made light of pedophilia
Because child molesters are very tenacious people. They love molesting childs. It's crazy
The nervous laughter from the crowd that night was probably the tip-off that the joke wasn't
going to go over well. How do you think I feel? It's my last show, probably. Amazingly, that wasn't his last show, as he'd return to host SNL again in April 2017
right before those sexual misconduct allegations against him came to light. Plenty of folks came forward on social media to condemn the jokes, while others insisted
that this is simply what comedians do, push boundaries. Louis C.K. made a career out of being offensive, and even his more formal cancellation couldn't
stop him. Following Me Too in 2017, CK continued releasing stand-up specials through his website, and
he even sold out Madison Square Garden during a 2023 performance. Even with so much baggage, he still has a surprising amount of support from fans
There are certain subjects comedians should probably avoid if they want to avoid controversy
Politics, religion, and Taylor Swift. Nikki Glaser learned that the hard way when a stand-up clip of her was featured in Swift's
documentary, Miss Americana. She's too skinny. It bothers me. We all remodel friends and it just like come on Lock and load boys Laser statement is paired with other criticisms from members of the media lobbied towards Swift which made her self and want to back away from the spotlight Following the
film's release, Glazer posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, apologizing for the comment
"...I probably actually hurt her feelings, and it felt horrible." Amazingly, the message reached Swift, who accepted it while discussing the importance
of showing how people can grow. During the 2012 performance at the Laugh Factory, Daniel Tosh apparently made a series of jokes
surrounding sexual assault, prompting a woman in the audience to express how such jokes are
never funny. According to the woman, Tosh then alluded to her getting sexually assaulted
right then and there. In the aftermath, the internet exploded into a series of think pieces
about whether he crossed the line. Many comedians came to Tosh's defense, essentially asserting
that while they may not agree with that specific joke, they believe comedians should be allowed
to explore dark subjects in the name of humor. Still, many claim this subject is just too painful
to joke about. Author Roxane Gay wrote for Salon, "'Rape is many things. Humiliating, degrading, physically and emotionally painful
exhausting, irritating. It is never funny for most women.'" Tosh apologized for the set, and it serves as a reminder that if the job of a comedian
is to make people laugh, certain subjects should probably remain out of limits
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website